Ideas are the least expensive and most valuable things in this business

I was lucky enough to spend a few years sailing on Lake St. Clair and Lake Huron with my friend’s grandfather. We were 20-somethings and he was in his mid-80s. He was a real tiger even then, with an inspiring competitive drive and a wonderful sense of humor. He spent his career in the Detroit advertising community. First, as an Art Director at Ross Roy on Jefferson and later as the owner of his own shop. Talking about the business, he said “Kid … ideas are the least expensive and most valuable things in this business.” Now approaching old-timer status myself, I’ve seen the value of taking time to really understand a problem and develop strong ideas. I’ve also seen how millions of dollars can be spent developing a half-baked or weak idea in the hope that it will someday “get legs.”

Here’s where I’m going: this is the first blog post for the fledgling website and brand, Detroit Web Forge. This site and the newsletter/social media components connected to it exists for one purpose. To inspire my clients with ideas. That’s it. My goal is to share at least one decent idea about web hosting, online security or marketing each week until I run out of them. I’ve got lots of ideas … and I’ve set this thing up to be easy to edit, so no excuses. Web marketing experts often will say that a web site should have a blog because fresh content is good for search engine optimization. So this is like the Detroit Web Forge eating more fiber, drinking more water and exercising. A good idea, right?

Future topics include Email Newsletters for building engagement with your audiences, protection from ransomware that could save you big headaches and many bitcoin, and the many ways to configure reliable and professional email. We’ll also share ideas for building your brand and demonstrate the power of storytelling. Hope to hear from you.